As is known, when textiles are washed, so-called soft-rinsing agents are employed in the final washing process in order to reduce the hardening of the fabrics caused by drying and to exert an attractive effect on the handle of the treated textiles.
The soft-rinsing agents employed are usually cationic compounds, for example, quaternary ammonium compounds, which, in addition to long-chain alkyl radicals, can also contain ester or amide groups. It is also advantageous to use mixtures of various softening components, which are added to the rinsing bath in the form of aqueous dispersions.
Although these cationic compounds are effective softeners when used in the final rinsing bath, they still display certain disadvantages in use.
One of the disadvantages of agents of this type is that the softening components cannot be dispersed in cold water; in addition, the re-wetting capacity of the textiles treated with them is not yet satisfactory.
The re-wetting capacity is understood to mean, in general, the absorption of moisture by the fibers. A defective re-wetting capacity has, however, disadvantages in cases where fairly large amounts of moisture are to be absorbed from the surface of the skin, for example in hand towels or bath towels and also in underwear or bed linen.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of conventional soft-rinsing formulations and to provide fabric softener rinsing agents which, in addition to good biodegradability and soft handle, possess an appreciably improved dispersibility and an improved re-wetting capacity.
It has been found, surprisingly, that textile soft-rinsing agents composed of mixtures of water-insoluble quaternary ammonium compounds containing ester groups together with salts of monoamine or polyamine compounds, which can be prepared by protonation with inorganic or organic acids, fulfil these requirements.